PITTSBURGH—This time last season, the fans here emerged as an entity of destruction, an overwhelming swarm of humanity that seemed capable of not only witnessing the game, but influencing its outcome.

The image of Cincinnati Reds ace
Johnny Cueto
dropping the ball on the mound, rattled and wilting as these people willed their beloved Pirates out of their 20-year playoff drought. The unending refrain of "Cue-to," the haunting chant that transformed PNC Park into the stuff of nightmares.

That atmosphere returned to Pittsburgh's North Shore on Wednesday night, with the Pirates in the do-or-die National League Wild Card game for the second consecutive year. The scene felt so familiar: the sea of black shirts in the stands, the
Jolly Rogers
waving, the noise that reverberated across the Roberto Clemente Bridge.

Except this time, it didn't work. Nothing did. Instead,
Madison Bumgarner
strode into the lion's cage—and walked away with its mane draped around his neck.

Bumgarner delivered a masterful performance Wednesday, twirling a four-hit shutout and propelling the San Francisco Giants to an 8-0 win. He struck out 10 batters against one walk, needing just 109 pitches to record his 27 outs.

The Giants will now head to Washington for Game 1 of the division series Friday against the top-seeded Nationals.

"I think playing at home in front of our fans all the time, it's been sold out since 2010, so it's an everyday game for us," Bumgarner said, as Champagne and beer flowed in the visitors' clubhouse. "Obviously every day's not a win-or-go-home, but as far as the crowd noise, that's an everyday game for us."

For the first three innings, though, it didn't sound routine. The volume in the stadium remained at a roar, making it difficult for the Giants to communicate with each other on the field. At one point, second baseman
Joe Panik
and right fielder
Hunter Pence
nearly collided as Panik caught a routine pop fly.

Madison Bumgarner delivered a masterful performance.
Getty Images

But then, in a heartbeat, everything went silent.

With the bases loaded in the fourth inning and the score tied, Pittsburgh starter Edinson Volquez left a 1-2 curveball hanging over the plate. San Francisco shortstop
Brandon Crawford
launched it over the right-field fence for a dramatic grand slam. The blast gave the Giants a 4-0 lead they wouldn't relinquish and sucked the life out the 40,629 spectators in attendance—the largest crowd ever at PNC Park.

"I definitely heard it go quiet," said Crawford, who became the first shortstop ever to hit a postseason grand slam, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. "In a moment like that, you kind of notice it."

From there, Bumgarner took care of the rest, appearing completely unfazed throughout the night.

His poise should come as no surprise: As a 21-year-old rookie in 2010, he stormed into hostile territory in Game 4 of the World Series against the Texas Rangers. He dominated, surrendering three hits over eight shutout innings.

Bumgarner learned at a young age how to pitch in October. Those experienced prepared him for this moment. In eight career playoff appearances, he now sports a 3.02 ERA.

On Wednesday, he looked as impressive as ever, confounding the Pirates with a dizzying array of well-spotted fastballs and sliders that seemed to disappear out of the strike zone. The Giants tacked on a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh. At that point, the fans started an exodus.

"He's the guy you want out there," Giants manager
Bruce Bochy
said of Bumgarner. "He's pitched so many big games for us. It's hard to have a bigger game than this, a do-or-die situation. This is like the seventh game, and he gave us everything we needed."

Having survived the randomness of the one-game wild-card playoff, the Giants have moved into position to make a deep run into the postseason.

They know a few things about those: They won the World Series in 2010 and in 2012.

"All you want is a chance," Bochy said. "We said that when we got to this game. We just wanted a chance."